UNDP Regional Centre in Istanbul

She was previously the chief of the Civil Society Team in UNDP’s Bureau of External Relations and Advocacy, and oversaw its work in developing partnerships and policies for the organization’s work with civil society.

Prior to joining UNDP, Ms. Sadasivam worked as a researcher in the Policy and Planning Division of UNICEF and in the Division for Social Policy and Development in the UN’s Department of Economic and Social Affairs.

Before joining the UN, she was gender justice programme director with the Women’s Environment and Development Organization, based in New York. There, she oversaw the publication of numerous reports monitoring governments’ commitments on women’s rights. She has also worked as a project researcher in the Asia-Pacific Resource and Research Centre for Women, based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Ms. Sadasivam began her career as a journalist in India and worked in several news organizations, lastly as assistant editor and op-ed page editor with The Times of India in Bombay. She has a certificate in journalism from the Journalists in Europe programme at the Centre for Training and Promotion of Journalism in Paris. She graduated from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs in 1996 and has published widely on development, gender and human rights issues.